18U AA Canucks Drop Doubleheader

Thursday evening was tough for the U18 AA Canucks as they dropped a doubleheader to the Lumsden Cubs.

In the opening game of the doubleheader the Cubs won 14 - 4 in a walkoff ten run mercy rule victory.

In the second game the Canucks lost 13 - 8 after seven full innings.

“Yeah in the first game it’s like when you get an A in school and your grandma still beats you. That’s how. Ad of a beating it was. It’s tough when you’re in a game like that,” Canucks assistant coach Darcy MacDonald said.

“We were making loots of mistakes. We just hope the boys learn from that and move forward.

The second game was better for the Canucks as they managed to hang right in with the Cubs at least in the initial three innings MacDonald said.

“We did come out in that second game and we came out a lot better on defence. We had a couple of clean innings right off the bat,” he said.

The team was up for the first three innings and then the Cubs kicked it into gear.

“The pitching was actually pretty good today. We had a good start from Russell in the first game too but we just couldn’t make any plays,” he said, adding “the key for these boys is to start making some plays out of the defence.”

MacDonald said the bats are starting to make some noise so it’s starting to come together.

The cool and damp weather was not a factor and something both teams faced.

“You can’t blame things on the weather conditions we have just got to be ready to play.”

The Canucks only gave two senior players return this season with the remainder graduating.

The graduation rate has left the Canucks with a team inexperienced at playing in the bigger field. They are not alone as many teams in the Canucks system are going through rebuild years with most players from 2025 graduated.

“We’re working (on it). We’ve got a young team with a few seniors and a couple of second years guys. All the rest are first years. A lot of them are working through some stuff and trying to figure out 18 year old ball.”

The Canucks have had a tough rebuilding year with the team only managing a single win. A couple of other wins just slipped through the Canucks’ fingers in the last part of the game.

“We’re trying to build so small victories become big victories.”

Asked if the team was looking forward to next year and building towards that MacDonald said not at all. The team is building towards success this year despite the start.

“You are never out if a game. You can score seven runs.”

“When you lose a bunch of third year players it puts you into a rebuilding mode.”